2014 JSU Marching Southerners Production

“SALVATION IS CREATED: A JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT”

In 2014, the Marching Southerners invite you to join them on a powerful and emotional passage from the strife and struggle of Darkness to the healing and hope of Light. SALVATION IS CREATED: A JOURNEY FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT is a musical portrait that reminds us that, although life is often difficult, there is always joy on the other side of sadness, peace after every storm, and darkness always gives way… to the light.

DARKNESS

The 2014 Production opens in brooding fashion with DARKNESS. O Fortuna from Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana sets the stage for this menacing montage. The mood quickly escalates to the literal point of wrath with an aggressive presentation of Verdi’s Dies Irae from Requiem. The most aggressive portions of these works meet head-on in what will be the darkest (and most powerful) Southerners’ Opener yet.

The JSU Ballerinas lighten the mood only slightly with Hoffman, Kent, & Kurtz’s I’m Gonna Live Till I Die. This Frank Sinatra classic reminds us that life is indeed short and always goes by too fast. As Ol’ Blue Eyes sang: “Gonna dance, gonna fly, I’ll take a chance riding high. Before my number’s up, I’m gonna fill my cup… I’m gonna live until I die.”

ATONEMENT

Struggles often seem to last forever. Pain sometimes seems to never end. It’s the resolve to never lose hope that gets us to the other side. Strauss’s Death and Transfiguration provides the backdrop for the final steps out of grief on the way to redemption. Once we arrive, Wagner’s Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral and the Southerners hornline herald the glorious arrival. It’s possible that no stadium will be able to handle it.

GLORY

As the journey comes to a close, the Southerners present a joyous finale with GLORY. The 3rd Movement of Rutter’s Gloria lays the groundwork for this production with its timeless melodies and infectious rhythms. A classic Southerners’ percussion feature builds to an emotional company front “push” with the Choral Finale from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Look for the Southerners’ color guard to wash the field with intense rays of light as Tschesnokoff’s Salvation is Created takes a final curtain call and brings the production to an end. DARKNESS surrenders to LIGHT.